Hand and arm guide for pianos or organs



(No Model.) I

A. W. SIGKNER.

HAND 7AND ARM GUIDE FOR- PIANOS'IOR ORGANS}. No. 469,276. I PatentedFeb; 23, 1892.

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UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT W. SIOKNER, OF VVICHITA, KANSAS.

HAND AND ARM GUIDE FOR PIANOS OR ORGANS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 469,276, dated February23, 1892.

Application filed November 9, 1891, Serial No. 411,267. (No model.)

To aZZ'whom it may concern: I Be it known that I, ALBERT W. SIOKNER, acitizen of the United States of America, residing at Wichita, in thecounty of Sedgwick and State of Kansas, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Hand and Arm Guides for Pianos or Organs, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawings, and the letters of reference thereon, forminga part of this specification, in which .Figure 1 represents inperspective a keyboard of a piano having my improved hand guide andtrainer attached thereto as it would appear ready for use; Fig. 2, aperspective View of the guide and trainer apparatus detached from theinstrument, having the center portion of the guide-rails broken away tocondense the view; Fig. 3, a detailed section of the rail-hinge. Figs.4, 5, 6, and 7,respectively, represent the key-board of an instrumentand the guide-rails of the apparatus in transverse section and a sideelevation of one rail-supporting standard attached to the instrument,said views respectively illustrating various adjustments and positionsof said guide-rails. Fig. 8 represents one of the guiderail-supportingboxes in section and a side view of the supporting standard passingthrough said box, also showing a side plan of a spring latch mechanismfor adj ustably holding the box on the standard; and Fig. 9 is adetailed perspective of one of the upper rail-supporting boxes.

This invention relates to certain improvements in apparatus designed asan attachment for pianos and organs for guiding and training the handmovements of persons learning the art of instrumental music as theresult of practice upon pianos and organs; and it consists in theconstruction and combination of certain parts, which improvements arefully set forth and explained in the following specification,and pointedout in the claims.

The object of this invention is to cause the learner in said art tomaintain a correct position of the forearms and wrists and at the sametime permit freedom of the hands and fingers; also, in some instances toguide and prevent improper movements of the hands and permit freedom ofthe fingers, and also,

' in other instances, to guide and prevent improper movement of theforearms and permit freedom of the wrists and hands.

Referring to the drawings, K represents that portion of a piano orsimilar instrument commonly known as the key-board, to the under side ofwhich the supports of the ap paratus are attached, and D represent suchsupports, which consist of plates or an equiva lent frame having screwholes therein, through which thumb-screws t are arranged for securingthem totl re instrument, and are further provided with thehorizontally-arranged boxes 0 and O, a box at each end of each platearranged in line with each other, as represented, the forward boxes 0 ofsaid plates being respectively provided with setscrews (1 arranged incorresponding screwthreaded holes turned upward into said boxes.

S S represent the guide-rail supporting standards, which are preferablymade of round metal bars and bent at a given point, so that one portionextends horizontally and the opposite portion vertically and at rightangles to the former portion. Said horizontal portions are representedat S S and are arranged extending under the key-board K and through theboxes 0 and O of plates D,

and are adapted to be moved longitudinally in either direction to adjustthe vertical standards S S either to or from the key-boardand are heldinto adjustment by meansof the setscrews d turned hard against them.

R represents the lower guide-rail of the apparatus and consists,preferably, of wood provided with a lower truss-bridging F to prevent itbeing too flexible and with the metallic boxes B' B', one box secured toeach end, as shown, which boxes are sleeved on the standards S,respectively, as represented,

and adjustably held thereon into serviceable position by means of theset-screws d, respectively, turned into corresponding screwthreadedholes of the boxes and brought to bear against their respectivestandard.

R represents the upper guide-rail of the apparatus of similarconstruction, but of reverse position of rail R',and is supported bymeans of boxes B B through the agency of hinge connections in likemanner as the lower rail, which boxes are also adj ustably held on saidstandards by means of the set-screws d in like manner as boxes B. Saidhinge con- ICC nections consist, respectively, of an extending barrelportion E, of boxes B, and of a hinge part at, having a securing-wing a(see Fig. 3) secured to each end of the rail, with the extendingportions of said parts a arranged in the barrels E, where they areadjustably held against rotation by means of set-screws d, turned intocorresponding screw-threaded holes of said barrels and brought to bearagainst said parts a. The purpose of said hinges is to adjust the railR, so that its under surface will be brought to incline either upward ordownward toward the key-board or to a horizontal position,which isaccomplished by loosening the set-screws d", and when the,

adjustment is made tightening said screws, and thereby holding the railinto such desired adjustment as may be required. In the arrangement ofsaid rails the lower rail is held centrally between thesupp0rting-standards, while the upper rail extends to one side towardthe key-board, which brings its outer side about vertically central overthe center of the lower rail, which relative position of the rails isessential and very important to the proper use and success of theapparatus, for the reason that the lower rail must be sufficientlydistant from the key-board, so as not to interfere with the freemovement and use of ones thumb, and the upper rail must be sufficientlynear the key-board to properly guide the back of the hands to preventimproper movement of the hands and yet permit free movement and use ofthe fingers. The lower rail is, for the purpose of better adapting it tothe hands in service, arranged with its upper or contact surfaceinclining downward toward the key-board, as represented, and thecontact-surface of each of the rails is covered with felt or othersuitable fabric material, as shown at e, to avoid the hands coming incontact with the wood portion of the rails.

In Fig. 8 I have represented a spring-latch mechanism for use as asubstitute for the set-screws of the rail-boxes of the apparatus forholding said boxes into adjustment, which latches consist of a fixedpart Z of the box B, arranged extending in a direction from thekey-board, and of a latch part Z, pivotally secured to the box andhavinga contact part Z arranged extending through a side hole of the boxinto the box-bore, which is yieldingly held in such position by means ofa spring V, arranged between parts Z and Z, as shown. The standard S,when used with such latch mechanism, is provided along one side with aseries of notches S, into which notches said contact part. Z of thelatch engages to hold the box adjusted, and when it is desired to againadjust the box said parts Z and Z are taken between the fingers and thelatch part Z depressed, causing its contact part Z" to disengage fromthe notches, and when the adjustment is made said parts are released,thus permitting spring V to return part Z" to its position into theadjacent notch of the standard, and I desire to state that otheranalogous means may be employed, if desired, to hold said boxes intoadjustment.

In use the lower rail is brought to a position a little distance fromand above the plain of the keys of the instrument to which the apparatusis attached to properly serve as a guide-rest for the hands or wrists,as the desired position may require. The upper rail is then brought to aposition to lightly touch the back of the hands, which, if the hands areresting in the position illustrated in Fig. 5, will hold the handsagainst vertical movement and permit free movement vertically to thefingers. In instances where the rails are adjusted farther from thekey-board, so that the lower rail will engage the wrist,alimited freemovement of the'hands may be had, but too high vertical movementprevented by the upper rail, and in such adjustment, if the upperrailcontact-surface is inclined upward in the direction of the key-board(see position in Figs. 5 and 7) and if it becomes necessary to moreclosely confine the hands, said upper rail may be adjusted to inclinereversely, as shown in Fig. 4, which would cause the back of the handadjacent the knuckles to sooner engage the rail if moved vertically.

By loosening the hinge set screws (1 of rail R hinge parts said rail maybe turned to present its contactesurface uppermost and then lowered byadjusting its supportingboxes to rest upon the outer part of rail R, asshown in Fig. 6, which position of rails forms a wrist or hand restonly, and by bringing the two rails together form a compound rest.Practically the same result may be attained by the removal fromstandards S Sof the upper rail together with its boxes.

In Fig. 2 the upper portion, of the standards S S are represented assealed for the purpose of intelligibly adjusting the rails.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. The guide and trainer for pianos and organs, consisting of thecombination, with the laterally-adjustable standards, of the twoparallel guide-rails provided with end boxes and adjustably supported bysaid standards through the agency of said boxes, wherein the upper railis connected with its boxes by means of hinge-joints, substantially asand for the purpose. set forth.

2. In the apparatus described, the combination, with the rail-supportingstandards, of the supportingplates respectively provided with theopposite supporting-boxes, with holes for the admission of screws forsecuring them to a musical instrument, and with set-screws for adjustably holding the standard-laterals, substantially as set forth.

3. In the apparatus described, the combination, with their supports, ofthe rail-supporting standards consisting of metal bars bent at a givenpoint to provide laterally-extending portions at right angles to thevertical portions and adapted to be adjusted to and from said supports,the set-screw for holding their adjustment, the guiderails supported bysaid standards by means of boxes sleeved on their vertical portion, andthe means for adjustably holding said rails, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

4. In the apparatus described,in combination with the guide-railsrespectively provided with supporting-boxes, the rail-supportingstandards respectively provided with the indicating-scale, substantiallyas and for the purpose set forth.

5. An apparatus for attachmentto pianos and organs for guiding andtraining the hand movements, consisting of a pair of verticalrail-supporting standards adj ustably secured to the piano or organ, alower guide-rail adj ustably supported by and approximately centralbetween said standards, and an upper guide-rail supported by saidstandards through the agency of hinge connections with its outer edgeapproximately vertically central over said lower rails, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

6. In the guide and training apparatus, the combination, with theirsupporting-standards, of the lower guide-rail arranged with itscontact-surface at an incline and the upper guiderail arranged with itsouter edge vertically central, or approximately so, over the lower rail,substantially as and. for the purpose set forth. 7

7. In the apparatus described, the guiderails thereof provided on theircontact-surface with a fabric or an equivalent material and at theirback with the truss-bridge, substantially as set forth.

8. In the apparatus described, the combination, with the upperguide-rail and its supporting-boxes, of the hinge connections consistingof the barrels made integral with the boxes and the hinge shanks orparts fixed to the rail and adapted to enter into said barrels and theset-screws turned into said barrels for holding the rail parts intoadjustment, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

ALBERT W. SIGKNER.

Witnesses:

WM. J. HUTOHINS, N. B. HAGIN.

